Update: Surovell Hits Ground Running -- and Collecting

Scott Surovell, the outgoing chairman of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee who is running against Republican Jay McConville in the 44th House District, announced today that he collected an astonishing $82,000 in his first seven days in the race.

See corrections to numbers on McConville at the bottom of this posting.

Surovell, who jumped in quickly after incumbent Democrat Kristen Amundson announced late last month that she would step down, was described recently by fellow Fairfax Democrat Ken Plum as the "energizer bunny" of Northern Virginia politics. He also has deep roots in the Mount Vernon-based 44th District, where he grew up, went to high school and cut his political teeth as chairman of the local Democratic political committee.

Surovell's biggest donations have come from Amundson ($10,000), and from his law firm, his dad, state Sen. Toddy Puller and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association ($5,000 each), he said. But Surovell boasted that about two-thirds of 266 donors who gave during those seven days gave $100 or less.

McConville declined to say how much money he raised in the most recent reporting period, which closed June 30, until Wednesday, when candidates are required to report campaign finance activity from May 28 through June 30.

During the previous cycle, from April 1 to May 27, McConville collected about $46,000, just under half of it from himself and 32 from contributors giving $100 or less.